Support For Smoke-free Laws Research Articles

Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Public Places and Support for Smoke-Free Laws in Japan: Findings from the 2018 ITC Japan Survey.

Comprehensive smoke-free policies such as those called for by the WHO FCTC are the only way to protect the public effectively from the harms of secondhand smoke (SHS), yet Japan has been slow to implement this important health measure. This study examines baseline levels of smoking and SHS exposure in public places and support for smoking bans in Japan prior to the implementation of the 2018 national smoke-free law. Data are from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Japan Wave 1 Survey (Feb–Mar 2018), a web survey of adult cigarette smokers, heated tobacco product users, dual users, and non-users (total N = 4684). Measures included prevalence of smoking (whether respondents noticed people smoking inside restaurants and bars at their last visit, and workplaces in the last month), and support for complete smoking bans in these venues. Smoking prevalence in each venue was high overall in 2018 (49% of workplaces, 55% of restaurants, and 83% of bars), even higher than in China, the country with the greatest toll of SHS. Support for complete smoking bans was very high overall (81% for workplaces, 78% for restaurants, and 65% for bars). Non-users were less likely to be exposed to SHS and had higher support for smoking bans than tobacco users. These findings point to the ineffectiveness of partial smoke-free laws in Japan and reinforce the call for comprehensive smoke-free laws, which even smokers would support at higher levels than in many other ITC countries.

Secondhand smoke exposure and support for smoke-free policies in cities and rural areas of China from 2009 to 2015: a population-based cohort study (the ITC China Survey)

ObjectivesTo examine trends in smoking prevalence in key venues (workplaces, restaurants, bars) and in public support for comprehensive smoke-free laws, with comparisons between cities and rural areas in China.DesignData are...

SHS exposure in public places and support for smoke-free laws in Japan: Findings from the 2018 ITC Japan Survey

SHS exposure in public places and support for smoke-free laws in Japan: Findings from the 2018 ITC Japan Survey

Trends in SHS exposure and smokers' support for smoke-free laws in China: findings from the ITC China survey, 2007 - 15

Trends in SHS exposure and smokers' support for smoke-free laws in China: findings from the ITC China survey, 2007 - 15

Public opinion about smoking and smoke free legislation in a district of North India.

Context: A growing number of cities, districts, counties and states across the globe are going smoke-free. While an Indian national law namely Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) exists since 2003 and aims at protecting all the people in our country; people still smoke in public places. Aim: This study assessed knowledge and perceptions about smoking, SHS and their support for Smoke-free laws among people residing in Mohali district, Punjab. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Mohali district of Punjab, India. A sample size of 1600 people was obtained. Probability Proportional to Size technique was used for selecting the number of individuals to be interviewed from each block and also from urban and rural population. Statistical Analysis Used: We estimated proportions and tested for significant differences by residence, smoking status, literacy level and employment level by means of the chi-square statistics. Statistical software SPSS for Windows version 20 was used for analysing data . Results: The overall prevalence of current smoking among study participants was 25%. Around 96% were aware of the fact that smoking is harmful to health, 45% viewed second-hand smoke to be equally harmful as active smoking, 84.2% knew that smoking is prohibited in public places and 88.3% wanted the government to take strict actions to control the menace of public smoking. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that people aged 20 years and above, unemployed, urban, literate and non-smokers had significantly better perception towards harms of smoking. The knowledge about smoke free provisions of COTPA was significantly better among males, employed individuals, urban residents, and literate people. Conclusions: There was high knowledge about deleterious multi-dimensional effects of smoking among residents and a high support for implementation of COTPA. Efforts should be taken to make Mohali a "smoke-free district".

BERMAN ET AL. RESPOND

We certainly agree with Hahn et al. that the ultimate goal is for residents of the Appalachian region to be protected by comprehensive, anti-preemptive statewide smoke-free laws, but we evidently disagree about the best strategy to reach that goal.1 Although we do not intend to downplay the determined efforts and tremendous accomplishments of local advocates in parts of Appalachia, our study found that years of local advocacy for smoke-free laws have produced only modest results. Moreover, the communities that have successfully passed comprehensive smoke-free laws have tended to be those with relatively high socioeconomic profiles, likely further exacerbating the health disparities that already exist within the region. We believe that all residents of the Appalachian region deserve protection from breathing toxic environmental tobacco smoke, and a community-by-community approach simply will not move the process along quickly enough. Hahn et al.'s own research has found that there is strong public support for smoke-free laws in the Appalachian region, and the recent passage of a strong smoke-free law in North Carolina—combined with encouraging progress toward a smoke-free law in Virginia—suggests that statewide success is possible even in historically tobacco-growing regions. We urge a strategy that will enlist the support of local leaders as part of a larger effort to pass and implement comprehensive statewide smoke-free laws.